Tag Archives: Nebraska

Letter to the editor by Research!America President and CEO Mary Woolley published in the Omaha World Herald.

This is in response to a Midlands Voices essay (Finish the job, fund medical research, Sept. 25). The authors’ articulate case for robust and sustained investments in lifesaving research represents the interests of all Americans who await cures, as well as better treatments and prevention of Alzheimer’s, autism, cancer and diabetes and more.

Many Americans believe that elected officials are not doing enough to combat deadly diseases, as they repeatedly cut funding and fail to enact policies that stimulate rather than stifle research. Two-thirds of our fellow citizens say it’s important for candidates running for office to assign a high priority to funding medical research, according to polling commissioned by Research!America.

With the midterm elections approaching, now is the right time to ask congressional candidates whether they would set a high priority on research conducted at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Creighton University School of Medicine and research institutions around the country. Ask Your Candidates, a national voter education initiative, gives voters in Nebraska a simple way to engage candidates and learn more about their positions on assuring medical progress.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is closely monitoring a new stomach bug that has hit several states. The one-celled parasite known as Cyclospora, which causes diarrhea, stomach cramps and other symptoms normally associated with a viral stomach bug, has sickened hundreds of people across the country.

As of this week, the CDC has been notified of 285 cases of Cyclospora infection in 11 states including Iowa, Nebraska, Texas, Wisconsin, Georgia, Connecticut, New Jersey, Minnesota and Ohio. At least 18 persons reportedly have been hospitalized in three states with most of the illnesses surfacing between mid-June through early July. The cause is not yet clear but health experts say the bug possibly came from contaminated food or water. The illness doesn’t spread from person to person. Continue reading →